New website launched: LCPC

Posted on 13. Jun, 2010 by kchristieh in religion, work

After years of whining that my church needed a new website, I finally put my hours where my mouth is and redesigned the website for La Cañada Presbyterian Church.

I customized a premium Wordpress theme, WP-Genius by Solostream. The site has over 133 pages and dozens of posts, which are mostly for events. It also includes six different templates. I migrated years worth of past podcasts, presentations and videos from the old site to the new site. I integrated Google calendars for each ministry area, Formstack forms for event sign-ups and website editing requests, Flickr slideshows for photo albums, and Vimeo for embedding videos.

Besides creating an easy-to-navigate, informative, attractive site that complements the new church logo, my main goal in this project is to delegate the daily maintenance of the site to church staff and other volunteers. I spent countless hours creating a detailed Wordpress instruction page, and have held four training sessions thus far for people who will update the site. I don’t expect to completely extricate myself from the process, but I’d like to be called on only when necessary.

It’s a work-in-progress, but I think it’s pretty cool.

How to create a great business blog

Posted on 16. Feb, 2010 by kchristieh in work

What’s worse than not having a blog for your business? Having a bad one, or not updating the one you have. I’ve designed blogs for many clients, but very few of them have developed those blogs into high-quality vehicles for conveying information about their organization or industry. That’s why I’ve decided that from now on, when I create a blog for a business, I’m going to make sure they know what they’re getting into, and how to make blogging worth their while.

I recently gave such a presentation to a law firm that’s starting a blog. They’re very enthusiastic about blogging (or “blawgging”), and I’m confident that once they start posting, they’ll have a great law blog. Here are some of the points that I brought up in my presentation that can also be applied to other businesses:

Does your business need a blog?

I don’t think that every business needs a blog. There may be better ways to communicate with customers, and you may not have the time or the content to maintain a blog. But if you’re an enthusiastic writer with lots to say, here are some reasons you may want to blog:

• An impressive blog may help you:
  • Attract new clients or customers
  • Attract referrals
  • Retain existing clients or customers
• To create dialogue about your product or services. Just as I blogged about in my post about “Undercover Boss” yesterday, it’s important to get many different perspectives when running a business.
• To create writing opportunities that push employees to be better communicators.
• To influence others.

A good business blog should do as many of the following as possible:

• Inform: People will look for information about your company, its products, and your industry on your business blog. Cabana Mobile blog does a great job of informing people about trends in mobile entertainment via well-written, frequent, appropriately-sized posts.
• Inspire: I love it when a business blog inspires me to learn about a new product or technique that will help me to be more efficient or effective. An example of a blog that successfully does this is The Mac Lawyer, which shows law firms why they should incorporate Macs into their practices.
• Entertain: I’d rather read something that makes me laugh instead of boring me to tears. The law firm of Harrison & Ford has a fun blog about “The Office” called That’s What She Said, which details the legal ramifications of each Office episode. Even though I’m not a lawyer, I enjoy reading it and sharing it with my kids.
• Engage: Get a good discussion going. If people feel like you care enough to respond, they’ll be more likely to hire you or shop with you. SocialEdge fosters great discussions about micro-lending.
• Have a voice: Don’t be dull. No one wants to read a blog full of press releases. If you show the personality of the writer behind each post, your company will start to feel like a place with real people the reader can trust.
• Have a purpose: Don’t meander too much. If you’re a law firm, don’t write about donuts unless it’s somehow relevant. The Thin Pink Line blog is a great example of a blog with a purpose, which in their case is to advise women professionals.
• Take risks: Show that you’re willing to do what you need to to get something done. Be careful, however, that you don’t reveal sensitive information, and that your views align with the company or firm mission.
• Be unique: There are tens of thousands of blogs out there. Be different and get noticed.
• Post frequently: You don’t have to post every day, but post frequently enough that people will return, and won’t think that you’re lazy.

Characteristics of a good blog post:

• Enthusiasm: Don’t write boring posts. If you wouldn’t want to read your post, then no one else either.
• Fits the blog’s mission: If people are coming to learn about your company or industry, don’t distract them with an irrelevant post.
• Good headline: It should be succinct, engaging and informative. It’s the first thing that people see, and they’ll either decide to read or abandon your blog based on it. It will also help you with search engines.
• Engaging writing: People are more likely to come back if they enjoy and respect your writing style.
• Appropriate length: People have short attention spans, especially on the web. Don’t make your post too long, and be sure to use bullet-points where possible.
• Analysis: If you’re going to talk about a news item that’s been published elsewhere, provide your analysis of it. Otherwise, people might as well just read the original article.
• New idea: Don’t just regurgitate old ideas; write about new ones. Become an influencer.
• Well-researched: Write bulletproof posts. If you’re referring to outside information, refer to it by name and link to it.
• Appropriate graphics: People are drawn to pictures. Include a graphic with each post, if possible, but make sure they’re appropriate and aesthetically-pleasing. And legal. I love iStockphoto.com for photos and graphics, and they usually cost $1 apiece.
• Categorizing, tags: Put your post in the correct categories, and create appropriate tags for the post. Google will search on the post content and on the tags. You may write a post about a Supreme Court decision, but not have the phrase “Supreme Court decision” in the post. Make that a tag, as someone might type “supreme court decision” into Google and find you.

Potential business blogging pitfalls:

Business blogging isn’t for the faint of heart. Be armed and ready for the following potential minefields:

• Burnout: According to a 2008 Technorati survey, over 95% of blogs that have been started have been abandoned. Don’t join that statistic, or you’ll be worse off than when you didn’t have a blog because you’ll look lazy.
• Infrequent posts: Don’t bother blogging if you blog so infrequently that people check out your blog only to see the same “recent” post they saw last month.
• Patience: It takes time to build readership. Don’t be discouraged.
• Comments: Be willing to publish dissenting comments. If you respond well, you’ll build loyalty.
• Be 150% sure before you hit “publish”: You may be quoted from your blog some day. Make sure you’re willing to stand by what you say for a long time. Also, be sure it’s well-written and reflects your company or firm’s high standards.
• Graphics: Make sure you’re legally able to include the graphics that you do.
• Attribute sources: Don’t steal content from others, and be sure to attribute quotes and statistics.
• Don’t send people away: If you link to another site, be sure it opens in a new window.

How to get the word out about your blog and specific posts:

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? The same holds true for blogging.

• Tell people about the blog and new posts via email, Facebook (including via Networked Blogs), Twitter, LinkedIn, your company or firm website
• Ask other sites to link to it
• Technorati, other blog aggregators
• “Favorite” posts on Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Metafilter, StumbleUpon, etc.
• Comment on other blogs and leave your blog URL. Not only will that provide a valuable link back to you, but someone might think that your comment is so insightful that they’ll be eager to read what you write on your blog.
• Tags, categories (see above)
• Encourage people to add you to their RSS feed

Hopefully these tips help you to enter the world of business blogging with your eyes wide open.

Tivo this: “Undercover Boss”

Posted on 15. Feb, 2010 by kchristieh in tv, work

When I studied Industrial Engineering, it seemed like everything was reduced to an acronym. Even simple concepts were reduced to three- or four-letter words. I thought that the silliest was MBWA: Management by Walking Around. Isn’t it obvious that you’ll be a better manager if you get out of your office and find out what’s going on at all levels? It’s probably the oldest management technique that exists. Apparently not everyone follows it, however, which is why the new reality show, “Undercover Boss,” is able to find company presidents whose eyes are opened to what’s really going on when they go undercover in their own organizations.

Although it’s sad that these people haven’t taken the time to do this before the show filmed them, I’m impressed that they cared enough to participate and air their company’s dirty laundry in order to make things better. The first episode followed Larry O’Donnell, the President and COO of Waste Management. He spent five days at different locations doing everything from picking up garbage on a windy hillside to accompanying a garbage truck on its daily run. He learned that directives to increase productivity were having unintended consequences such as not allowing female truck drivers to use a restroom on the route, and that staff reductions were forcing some people to do that work of five people. He met a man whose attitude towards cleaning out portable restrooms is so sunny that he inspires everyone who works with him. At the end of the show, O’Donnell brought all the people he met to the company headquarters, and when he revealed who he really was, he also promised to take what he’d learned and who he’d met to make the company better.

Last night’s episode followed Hooters’ CEO, Cody Brooks. He took over the management of the company from his father, who founded it. His father was very hands-on, and was known for visiting different stores and facilities, but Brooks hadn’t done much of that before this show. Like many women, I’m not a fan of Hooters, and this show didn’t change my mind. When a company calls women “girls”, dresses them in tight shirts with big owl’s eyes reminiscent of breasts, and has a “Humps Ahead” sign in its boardroom, I don’t consider them to be very respectful of women. I was amazed that Brooks didn’t realize the extent to which women don’t like his restaurants, but I wasn’t surprised that this company image would foster a restaurant manager who would “inspect” the “girls” before each shift and make them play “reindeer games” where they’d have to eat beans off a plate without their hands or utensils. I’m happy that Brooks had his eyes opened to what is really going on in his company and the image it has with the public, but I think it’ll be tough to surmount Hooters’ reputation.

I look forward to next Sunday’s show, which features 7-11 CEO Joe Depinto. I doubt this series will be able to continue for very long, because it’ll be harder to convince workers that a trainee with a camera crew isn’t being filmed for a reality show.

Here’s what I think the next reality show should be: “Undercover Student.” I wish someone would put a hidden camera on a student at an American high school, and see what happens on a regular day. Although there are, of course, wonderful stories of learning and friendship that take place, I’m stunned at some of the stories I hear from my kids. Perhaps I’ll blog about that in June, 2011.

Note: If you missed the first few episodes of “Undercover Boss” you can view them on the CBS website.

Food, Inc., TwoFoods and GoodBelly make me eat better

Posted on 25. Jan, 2010 by kchristieh in food, health, work

Ever since I watched Food, Inc., I’ve been much more picky about the food I buy and eat. I was somewhat careful before, but now my eyes have been opened to food processing practices I had never even imagined.

The movie is not for the faint of heart: it shows how various types of meat get from farm to table, and shows the dangers of inorganic farming. I’m not ready to become a vegetarian, but I’ve been much more vigilant about buying organic products when possible.

Soon after I watched Food, Inc., I discovered a website that’s changed how I choose foods: TwoFoods.com. When you enter two food choices, it shows you the nutritional information for each one, side by side. It also shows similar foods that you can click on to see information for. Here’s a screenshot for the difference between eggs and Multigrain Cheerios. Before I lost weight, I ate Multigrain Cheerios every morning. Once I started eating eggs, the weight started coming off and I found myself more satisfied throughout the morning, probably since I didn’t have so many carbs. I need to start eating eggs for breakfast more again.

I also recently discovered GoodBelly Probiotic Fruit Drinks when they asked me to create a BigCommerce store for them. They were super-nice to work with, and it was a pleasure to wrap my brain around the extensive customization requirements. I documented the customizations in Evernote, and figure they’ll come in handy in the future.

To the right is the BigCommerce template before I customized it, and below that is what it looked like in the end. I had a blast working with their little “bug” characters, creating graphics with them that expressed different pages on the site. The store complements the look and feel of the GoodBelly.com site.

I’ve had a tough time finding GoodBelly in stores; so far I’ve only found it in the Vons across from Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. I’m sure it’s also at Whole Foods. I’ve only tried the Blueberry Acai flavor, since I’m allergic to the Strawberry flavor that Vons also carries. The Blueberry Acai actually tastes like grape juice, but not as sweet. It’s really good. Here’s how the GoodBelly.com website describes their products:

Get juiced with GoodBelly, a probiotic fruit drink that contains lp299v, which is clinically proven to support digestive health and strengthen the immune system. We’re good to the core, so you can be good to yours.

Besides tasting good and making me healthy, GoodBelly makes me smile when I drink through the happy face holes. I love a company with a sense of humor.  :)

New site: Ramon Resa, Inspirational Speaker

Posted on 03. Dec, 2009 by kchristieh in inspirational people, work

Ramon Resa managed to rise above a childhood full of poverty, violence, physical and sexual abuse, alcoholism, and total disregard for education to become a pediatrician. He returned to his roots, and besides running a successful medical practice, he speaks to teens and parent groups about the importance of staying in school and working hard to achieve your dreams.

I recently designed a new website for Ramon. I’ve spoken to him on the phone, but I’ve never met him. Hopefully some day I will, and hopefully my husband will be with me when I do. I think they’d have lots to talk about.

New website: Hernandez Schaedel & Associates

Posted on 19. Nov, 2009 by kchristieh in work

Over 10 years ago, in a fit of eToys IPO-fueled optimism, my husband quit his big law firm job and formed his own law practice, The Hernandez Law Group. He’s worked very hard over the years to grow the practice, and recently decided to take on two partners: Jack Schaedel & Rob Olson. Don and Rob practice primarily intellectual property, healthcare and business litigation, and Jack primarily practices employment litigation. They have five associates who also help them.

The original Hernandez Law Group site was the second site I ever designed. It was fine at the time, but trends change, and I’ve changed the site a few times since then. The new partnership of Hernandez Schaedel & Olson, LLP required a new website, so I used the occasion to completely update the look. It’s convenient when your wife is a website designer.

New website: SocialBling

Posted on 29. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in social networking, work

Stephanie Michele wants to help you to get connected to other people who share your interests. She’s started a new company called SocialBling that helps you find other people based on your wants, needs and goals.

It was great working with Stephanie on this site, and using the logo and graphics that Debra Doty designed made the job that much easier. SocialBling’s gotten some great press: check it out!

Take me back to the Mac shack

Posted on 29. Sep, 2009 by kchristieh in my life, technical, things that bug me, tv, work

When my husband and I first met, we were poor graduate students. We were happy eating ramen (me) and Kraft Mac & Cheese (him), as long as we were together. (awww!) I’ve always considered it a blessing that we fell in love when we had so few material possessions, as our expectations of the relationship weren’t based on finances.

But over the years, there’s one thing I’ve come to depend upon: my internet connection. It’s impossible to be a website designer or serial volunteer without a fast, reliable connection. I’ve told my husband many times that I’d be fine living in a much smaller abode as long as I have my computer and a good internet connection. (and my dog, and my pillows)

I may have to test that promise. Although I live in a thoroughly modern Los Angeles suburb, I have nearly given up on having a decent internet connection. My internet provider, Charter Communications, was fine for many years, but since this summer my internet connection has become increasingly unreliable. I’ve had countless technicians come out to fix it, but thus far they’ve only made things worse. Last Wednesday the same technician came to our house twice: after the first time the connection went down four times within the next hour, and after the second time our television signal was lost, even though we hadn’t previously had a problem with our signal. Every day since then, Charter has told me they’d have a technician here, and every day has come and gone without a technician servicing us. Tomorrow marks a week since we lost our signal, and I’m not holding my breath that it’ll be fixed by then.

I gave up last night, and decided to switch to AT&T. Unfortunately, AT&T doesn’t provide high speed internet service to our area, so the speed they promise, 768 KBps, isn’t much faster than a dial-up modem. I want reliability, but I don’t want the speeds I gave up in the last millennium.

I’m writing an email to Charter Vice President / General Manager Fred Lutz. () He makes a big deal out of how important customer service is to Charter. I agree: it should be important. I just wish it were. Hopefully this will be resolved soon. If not, maybe I’ll even call him. . Or even worse, I’ll have my attorney husband call him. He misses his football much more than I do.

Many thanks to Amy B. for paying attention to Mr. Lutz’s email address and phone number when he recently appeared on our local cable news program.  :)

Do you need a website, a blog or a Facebook page? Or something else?

Posted on 17. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in social networking, work

Café Pasadena asked an excellent question in response to Saturday’s blog post: How should a person decide whether they need a website, a blog, or a Facebook page?

A page is perfect for keeping in touch with friends and family. Most people make their pages private, so they can only be seen by people they’ve accepted as “friends.” It’s an easy and effective tool for sharing updates about what’s going on in your life, articles and links you find interesting, videos you like or have taken, and photos of your latest adventure. There are many levels of privacy settings. For example, you can specify that a certain photo can only be seen by a few select people, and yet share another photo with anyone. It’s all up to you. Facebook is also an excellent adjunct to email. When I send a Facebook message, I know it won’t wind up in a spam folder. Most people have Facebook set up so that they not only get messages in their Facebook inbox, but they also get an email letting them know they have a message. I love that Facebook groups messages by their string, so I don’t have to go back to search for what was said before. Because I know messages won’t wind up as spam, I’ve also ditched Evite in favor of organizing events on Facebook. It keeps track of who’s coming to an event, just as Evite does. Facebook groups are an effective way of updating people about a cause or interest, and allow people to contribute to the dialogue. Facebook can also be useful for businesses, organizations or public features that wish to start groups or fan pages. In fact, it’s quickly becoming necessary that they do so unless they want to be left out of the loop. Facebook is free.

Blogging is an effective way to communicate your insights, knowledge and opinions. You can customize the look of a blog, but the core of the blog will be the posts. A post is like an article. You can post as often or as seldom as you wish, but you’re more likely to have loyal readers if you post regularly. Nearly all blogs have no privacy settings, so anyone on the internet can see what you write or what pictures you post. You can create a blog for free, but you might choose to pay to host your blog so that you can have more design flexibility. I use a Facebook application called NetworkedBlogs that puts my blog posts on my Facebook news feed. I’m generally getting 5-10x more comments on my blog posts on Facebook rather than on the actual blog itself, and since they’re not anonymous, the comments are always thoughtful and respectful.

A website is usually updated less often than a blog, unless it’s a media website with constantly updated lists of stories or a retail website with new products and reviews. Websites can be designed however you wish, and are perfect for businesses or organizations that wish to provide information about their product or mission. In my case, my business website is kchristieh.com, my blog is kchblog.com, and I have a Facebook page under my own name.

Other popular communication tools you might consider include LinkedIn and Twitter.

functions much like an online resume, but with “connections” much like “friends” on Facebook. It’s much less dynamic than Facebook, however, because you don’t post status updates, links, vacation photos, etc. to your page. Because LinkedIn stays more professional, it’s great for people who are looking to network without getting too personal. LinkedIn also has a great feature that allows you to ask a professional question, such as “What software would I use for the following situation?” The responses are usually very helpful. I have a robust LinkedIn profile, but I only use it when I have a question to ask. I’d use it more if I were looking to hire or to be hired.

allows people to send out and receive short updates on their cellphone or email account. It’s a great way to quickly inform groups of people of an important event or breaking news. Many businesses use it to update customers. I’m signed up for Twitter, and although I have been notified that I have a bunch of followers, I’ve never “tweeted,” or posted an update. I prefer to update my Facebook status and let people see it if they wish to, and not inundate anyone or myself with useless chatter. I also prefer knowing that only friends and family see my updates. While much that goes on via Twitter is useful, I don’t want to get updates on my cellphone or email that so-and-so is eating a yummy burger.

Does anyone actively use MySpace anymore? Just kidding…sort of. While I’m sure many people still use MySpace, my friends and I appreciate the more robust features and privacy settings of Facebook, so that’s where we communicate.

New website launched: La Canada High School 9-12 PTSA

Posted on 13. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in education, non-profits, work

When I sent my kids off to camp and Costa Rica last month, I finally found time to fulfill my 2008 New Year’s resolution and learn to incorporate a database into a website. You can see the results on the La Canada High School 9-12 PTSA website, lchs912.org. Events and news items are easy to enter and automatically show up on their correct pages and drop off the site when they expire. I’ve even set up sub-categories such as athletics and college recruiting events so that those events also show up on the appropriate pages. Although I took a PHP class last year, I chose to create this website using ExpressionEngine so that it would have a robust content management system that non-professionals would be able to use.

Another great feature of this website is the online One Check Order Form. This form used to be about 15 printed pages that were mailed to every school family. It would take a long time to fill out, as you’d need to re-enter your name and address on each page since they’d be sent to various committee chairs. I used Icebrrg to create this online form, and it takes about 3 minutes to fill out. It then takes you to PayPal to complete your payment. Icebrrg keeps track of all entries in an online or downloadable spreadsheet, so it’ll be easy for our Financial Secretary to pass the information input on to the committee chairs. Over 100 people have already clicked on the link in my Constant Contact email and completed the form.

I’m confident that this will make my job as PTSA President easier, and will make it easier to pass the website on to my successor in a few years when both my kids have graduated.

The most creative job search technique I’ve ever seen

Posted on 26. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in advertising, social networking, work

I’m not sure why Facebook thought the ad to the right might be relevant to me, but I love it. Sometimes creative application techniques bomb, but I think this one’s pretty good. I hope it works for him! Maybe he was wise in targeting me, since I’m winding up blogging about it.  :)

These are good days to be self-employed. At least when I go to work each day, I know I have a job.

The Design Studio website is now live

Posted on 01. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in art, work

I love Jack Johnson’s music. But as great as it is, he’s not in the same class as the Beatles, who composed and performed a wide variety of music.

The Design Studio is The Beatles of interior designers. As you can see on the new website I designed for them, Judy Van Wyk and John Fernandez-Salvador don’t confine themselves to one interior design style. Even within a category, such as libraries or residences, they design in a variety of styles, but all reflect their clients’ needs. They’re also very creative, and I’m impressed by the spectrum of themes, colors and styles they work with.

I enjoyed working with Judy and John. The design process went smoothly, and they had high-quality photographs to highlight their excellent work. I wish I could hire them for a project!

New YMCA website launches

Posted on 29. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in work

Every few years a website needs refreshing. Design trends change, technology advances, and businesses and organizations evolve. The YMCA of the Foothills (formerly known as the Crescenta-Canada YMCA) website was long overdue for an overhaul when they hired me and some of my fellow freelancers for help. The colors were old, the design was very plain, and the site was difficult to navigate. Most of all, it didn’t make you want to get involved in the great activities and opportunities the YMCA provides. You can see a screenshot of the old site to the right.

Before we got started, graphic designer extraordinaire Debra Doty redesigned the YMCA of the Foothills logo to correspond to their name change. I then designed the site, Tom Reynolds managed the project and client interaction, and Eric Lim did the coding, which was particularly hairy since it has a complicated database behind it.

You can see the result below. I think it looks great, and am sure that this will raise the YMCA’s profile so that they can move forward and have an even greater impact in our community.

I found my perfect college major, 28 years too late

Posted on 23. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in education, work

When I arrived at college in the Fall of 1981, I was pretty certain I’d be an engineer, but I didn’t know which kind I wanted to be. I took classes in most (all?) of the engineering disciplines, and quickly settled upon Industrial Engineering. It was the most social of the engineering majors, and appealed to my organized side and my desire to do computer programming. There wasn’t a computer science major at the time, so that wasn’t an option. It wasn’t perfect – I didn’t really see myself doing time studies for the rest of my life – but I wound up getting my BS and my MS in it anyway.

If I were starting college this Fall, I’d want to major in Web Design and Engineering. I didn’t even know this major existed until I saw it on a poster in the admissions office at Santa Clara University yesterday before our tour. Here’s how their website describes it:

An interdisciplinary program that blends computing, engineering, and graphic design while developing an understanding of, and sensitivity to, the relationships between the Web and those who use it.

Oh. My. Gosh. Is that not the coolest major? It’s not just programming and it’s not just graphic design. I wish I could teach this course! Even if my kids go there, I don’t think they’ll major in this. They seem to have other interests. But, at least it’s available. Lucky!!!

It’s still not an option at my alma mater, but if I were there now I’d try to get departmental approval to design my own major. I guess that’s what I’ve done since I’ve graduated anyway.  :)

Discover the World website re-design launched

Posted on 08. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in international, non-profits, work

I recently had the privilege of re-designing the website for Discover the World, a Christian organization that does lots of great work in Africa, particularly with children whose parents have died of AIDS. They also provide mosquito nets, leadership training, schools, water filters, emergency relief, and more. They make a huge difference in the lives they touch, but there’s nearly an infinite need for more help. I like that their mission is to

“lift up the world’s neediest people so that they can sustain themselves.”

That’s help that will have a long-lasting effect. I encourage you to check out their website and learn about their great work.

Besides enjoying working on a website that will help make the world a better place, I enjoyed working with a nice client that had a full retinue of fantastic photos. While I was working on this site, I heard Greg Mortenson speak and saw the slides he took of the work he’s done in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I was struck by how much more colorful the African clothing and scenery is in the Discover the World pictures, and how much more the people in Africa smile in their pictures despite an equally destitute situation. It’s amazing how different cultures can be.

What is your calling?

Posted on 06. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in quotes, religion, work

I had the privilege of speaking about my website design business at the 8th grade career day at the La Canada High School junior high school just over a week ago. After my sessions were over, I volunteered to take some pictures of Todd Johnson, a Fuller Theological Seminary professor, speaking to a group of kids. I know Todd already, so I knew he’d be wonderful, but I was curious to see how he’d handle a theological discussion in a public school.

He was perfect. He was very diplomatic, and stuck to the questions that the kids asked him. I was struck by how interested the kids were in deeper faith issues. I wish our kids had more opportunities to discuss theology. The Mormon church and Catholic schools do a wonderful job of this, but my kids don’t attend either of those. My teens get great support for questions of faith and life issues, but they don’t have as much of a biblical education as I wish they would. It’ll be interesting to see if they pursue that in college.

Anyway, I actually wrote down my favorite quote from Todd:

“Your calling is where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need.”

May we all find our calling.

It is a great quote, orginially from theologian Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking “…Vocation is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet…”

Playground Surfaces: How far we’ve come. Or not.

Posted on 12. May, 2009 by kchristieh in education, my life, parenting, work

When my kids were in their early elementary school years, there was a rash of serious injuries caused by kids falling from their school’s play equipment onto the sand surface beneath. Committees convened, research was conducted, and parents implored the school and district administration to make the playground safer.

At one point, the school superintendent said she didn’t care what parents said. Ooooh – you.don’t.say.that.to.us!!

That’s when I joined the fight. I had more free time than ever, since eToys had just imploded, and my website design business was still in its infancy. I linked arms with other mothers and fathers as news crews filmed us on the playground, and eventually and installed a safer, poured rubber surface. Soon after that, the superintendent left, and a year later, I became the PTA president.

So I REALLY enjoyed making this website for Spectraturf. They have incredibly creative designs, and I enjoyed using their bright colors and rounded surfaces on the site. They’re still filling in content, but here’s what it looks like:

This is a BIG step up from the asphalt playground at my elementary school playground! Don’t believe me? It’s hard to believe, but it’s STILL asphalt! Here’s a recent image of Jefferson School in North Arlington, NJ from Google Maps:

At least they let the girls wear pants now. It was kind of tough to play with gusto in a dress.  :(

Movie recommendation of the week: “17 Again”

Posted on 25. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in movies, my life, work

I didn’t celebrate my birthday well enough this week, so I promised myself to resume celebrating at 3:00 pm today. I was working too hard on the parcel tax website, but by 4 pm I had enough done on that I decided to see “” with my teenage daughter.

I’m so glad I did!

We both loved this movie. It was a fun, romantic comedy with an excellent message (appreciate the life you have, love the ones you’re with, etc.) that had excellent acting. It was perfect to see with my daughter, but would have also been fun to see with my husband. It made me appreciate my 22-year marriage even more and I look forward to seeing it with him on DVD some day.

I’d heard a few negative things about “The Soloist,” so I’m glad we chose to see this instead.

My favorite productivity tools

Posted on 13. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, work

I hate to waste time. Maybe that’s why I studied Industrial Engineering. Here are some websites, programs and techniques that help me work and manage my life more efficiently.

I used Calendar Creator for our family calendar for about 12 years until it crashed last fall. I was crushed. Not only did I lose tons of valuable data, but I needed a new program that would allow me to print out our family’s calendar for the refrigerator. I was reluctant to use Google Calendar, but now I’m a convert. I’ve set up a different calendar for each member of our family, plus a calendar for events we all participate in, one for friends’ birthdays, and one for relatives’ birthdays. Each member of the family has access to all the calendars, and can choose which ones to see or not see. It prints out nicely and can be accessed from anywhere. Now to get certain family members to read it online. That’s why I continue to print it out occasionally.

I like to keep up with a fair number of blogs, but I don’t want to take too long to do so. I’ve tried several blog aggregators, but I’m sold on Google Reader. I’ve divided the blogs I read into groups (e.g., Design, People I Know, Technical, Local) and when I click on the shortcut on my toolbar I only see the subject lines of new posts to the blogs I follow. If I don’t want to read any of the posts, I can just click on “Mark All As Read” and they won’t be highlighted next time. If you click on the monkey in the right column of my blog, you can subscribe to my blog on Google Reader.

Freshbooks

My worst case freelancing scenario would be if all 90 or so of my clients decided they need their websites updated the same day. Eeek!! Even though that hasn’t happened yet, I’m constantly updating websites, and it can be hard to keep track of those 3 min. – 3 hour time charges. Freshbooks allows me to click a Start button that starts a clock running to the 1/100th of a minute. If the phone rings while I’m working, I just press Pause. Then Restart, then Log Hours when I’m done. I use it to send out email bills on a regular basis, and clients can even pay via PayPal.

CushyCMS

This website allows me to set up clients to update their own sites. It’s perfect for simple text changes, and I don’t miss being the middleman. I’d rather concentrate on more exciting stuff anyway. Note: It’s not very good at stylesheets, but if the formatting of something gets messed up, I have my clients email me and I fix it in about 30 seconds.

Daily Slurp

The coolest looking website three years ago probably looks outdated now. That’s why I check Daily Slurp each day. It highlights a collection of cool new websites, and allows me to keep up with new design and technical trends. I categorize the sites I like using NetVisualize, and sometimes use that to create thumbnail directories to show clients so that I can find out what they love and hate before I start designing their website. Unfortunately, NetVisualize doesn’t work with the new Google browser, so that’s why I’m mostly sticking with Firefox.

This simple program allows me to categorize my fonts however I want, and then to see what a line of text would look like in each font. It’s much better than plowing through the million or so fonts I have. Besides the usual serif, sans serif, my categories range from Art Deco to Fun to Girly & Curly.

Of course, there are times when I give myself a break. That’s when I turn to or Etsy. A girl’s gotta have friends and shop every once in awhile!  :)

Two new websites launched: Majestic Rubber Mulch & Moisture Register

Posted on 22. Aug, 2008 by kchristieh in health, my life, work

I love my kids, and have had a great time spending lots of time with them this summer, but it’ll be much easier to get work done when they go back to school. I’m busier than ever this year, and my work doesn’t slow down in the summer. I’m a little behind, but I somehow managed to launch another site today. Majestic Rubber Mulch recycles old rubber tires into playground and landscape mulch, tiles, pavers, mats and more.

I really like this site. I can’t wait until I’m given more content to fill in on the “Coming soon!” pages.

My new cook is really cute

Posted on 09. Jul, 2008 by kchristieh in food, my life, parenting, work

I’ve been challenging my teenage son to do something productive this summer, and he finally came up with an inspired idea: he’ll cook dinner for us each night and do all the dishes for a few dollars each. I’ll choose the menu with him, to ensure that we don’t have pizza and macaronii & cheese, but he’ll do all the cooking and cleaning.

It’s a win-win situation. He’ll learn how to be an even better cook, and I’ll get to catch up on work. My clients are keeping me busier than ever, and it’s hard to get it all done while the kids are off from school. I have full confidence in his abilities. After all, this guy makes waffles and palacinky for his friends when they sleep over.
So far, he’s made one meal: Southwest Chicken. It was excellent.  :)

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, the thinner the better.

2. Mix the following in a bowl:

• 2 TB each of:
  curry
  cumin
  chili powder
  brown sugar
• 1 tsp each:
  salt
  pepper

Technique:

1.    Dip each piece of chicken in the rub.
2.    Fry chicken in olive oil for about 4-5 minutes on each side.

New site launched: Stuart M. Davis

Posted on 18. Jun, 2008 by kchristieh in work

Another busy day…and not just because the kids had a half day on the last day of school! I launched another website:

Stuart M. Davis rescues sick machines that are unsafe, need repairs, or have stopped working. He also trains people in how to correctly use machines.

See http://www.stuartmdavisinc.com

Tips for reducing email inbox clutter

Posted on 17. Jun, 2008 by kchristieh in my life, technical, things that bug me, work

One of the biggest barriers between me and serenity is my email inbox. I hate chaos, and if there’s something in my inbox, I regard it as a task undone, a monkey on my back. I often feel that my life is like a tennis game, where I’m constantly hitting balls back to other people.

Apparently I’m not the only one feeling overwhelmed. Saturday’s NYTimes article, Lost in E-Mail, Tech Firms Face Self-Made Beast, notes how some companies are trying to find ways to help their employees cope with the crush of email. They’re encouraging employees to send less messages, especially group messages, and to cut themselves off from the constant flow of email into their inbox. Some are even encouraging “zero email Fridays,” though that works better in theory than in practice. I recently heard an NPR story where a Microsoft employee with over 2,000 emails in his inbox declared “email bankruptcy” and deleted his whole inbox. How tempting is that?!? Unfortunately, that didn’t go over very well with some of the people who had sent him emails.

My inbox is doing pretty well right now, with only 25 emails. What are those emails about, and why aren’t I getting them all out of my box? Here’s a quick tally: work-related (15), memo to me reminders (3), class notes (3), need to log in finance program (2), friends (1), volunteer work (1). The best part of this exercise was realizing that there were 16 emails sitting in my inbox that I was able to dispense of pretty quickly because they were either no longer relevant or could be filed. Clearly, work’s what holding me back right now, but at least it’s paid work. Then again, that’s because the volunteer work had deadlines and I completed it already.

Here’s what I do to try to reduce my technological stress:

• When it gets really bad, I turn off the volume on my computer, so I don’t hear the click click click of emails pouring in.
• I don’t IM. I tried it many years ago, and found that as soon as I’d wrap my brain around what I was doing before I typed my last message, another would come in. I’d waste a lot of time writing about what could have been a 2-minute conversation.
• I don’t receive my emails or Facebook messages on my cellphone. I’d go crazy if I did.
• If I can’t get to something right away (e.g., make appointment for doctor tomorrow), I set up a Memo to Me reminder to arrive when I can accomplish the task.
• Our family uses a Google calendar with about 6 different calendars. Besides one for each family member, we have one that includes All-Family Events, and one that includes My Events Which Impact the Family. (e.g. when I have to go to the dentist when the kids are out of school.) Each family member has access to what s/he needs.
• I maintain two iGoogle to-do lists: one for work, one for personal stuff. Each is prioritized.
• I subscribe to Freshbooks, a service which provides a timer for me to keep track of how much time I spend on each project. Once I click on the timer, I don’t let anything distract me, since I only want to bill the client for work done for them.
• I delete mass email forwards unless they look truly fascinating and I have time for them.
• If I can respond quickly to an email, I do.
• If I think I might blog about something, I file it in a “Blog about someday perhaps” folder so that it doesn’t sit in my inbox.
• If I’m REALLY crazed, I stop blogging. I guess it’s not that bad right now. :)

Please let me know if you have any more suggestions!

Four websites I recently designed

Posted on 11. Jun, 2008 by kchristieh in work

Here are a few websites I recently designed that are now live. Some have actually been live for several months. There are a few more neat ones I’m working on now, and I can’t wait until I can add them to my portfolio.

	the company that makes traffic safety products from recycled materials Three D Traffic Works view website
	the metal fabricator Z Manufacturing view website
	the jump roping team Palpitating Panthers Jump Rope Team Note: Since this website launched, the team changed reorganized and changed names. New site coming soon!
	the fitness boot camp Urban Army Fitness Bootcamp view website

Patricia O’Neil made me a beautiful house tile

Posted on 23. Mar, 2008 by kchristieh in art, my life, work

One of the best things about being a website designer is that I get to meet lots of great new people and learn about their businesses. One of my clients, Patricia O’Neil, is an artist in Laguna Beach. She makes exquisite porcelain Santas and gorgeous handmade house tiles. She recently needed some updates on her website, so we struck a deal that instead of paying me, she’d make me a house tile.

Here’s what she delivered to me today:

The photo doesn’t nearly do it justice. The colors are more vivid in real life, and it’s three-dimensional. The trees, the fence, and the porch are all further forward than the house itself. It’s 14″ x 9.5″, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It usually takes me awhile to hang new artwork, but I put this up immediately. I chose to put it in our kitchen, so that if there’s an earthquake and it falls down, it’ll only go as far as the counter and hopefully won’t break.

This would be a perfect housewarming gift or going-away gift for someone. Our old house had a very nice watercolor painting that someone had made of it, but it was big and had been left there by several previous owners, so we left it behind too. I plan on keeping this tile with me wherever I move, however.

Give the disabled a chance to contribute

Posted on 13. Mar, 2008 by kchristieh in inspirational people, politics, startling statistics, work

David Paterson is about to become New York’s first African-American and first blind governor. Today he remarked that 71 percent of blind people and 90 percent of deaf people are unemployed, even though they have a higher level of education than the average American. He noted that this is a waste of potential, and the world may never know if one of these people might have discovered a cure for cancer.

I bet he would love the story of Allison Wright that I heard on NPR the other night. Allison has Down Syndrome, but that hasn’t stopped her from learning how to use a specialized carving machine at her framing store. Her father helped her apply for a micro-loan to set up the business, and she’s got a business partner who helps her with the finances. Allison’s enthusiastic about working, and appreciates the opportunity to operate a business. Her father is clearly a very special person and has done a marvelous job of finding ways to harness Alison’s strengths.

I was also impressed by Allison’s business partner, Clay. He’s only been with her for six months, but he’s completely in her court. He told the interviewer that if a customer doesn’t want to deal with Allison, then he doesn’t want to deal with them. He and Allison joked around a lot during the interview, and it was obvious that he appreciates and respects her immensely. I thought it was neat that he takes her to museums on a regular basis so that they can look at frames!

It’s too bad that everyone who’s disabled hasn’t had the opportunities that David Paterson and Allison Wright have. Hopefully more will as time goes by, and our society will discover that everyone benefits when people realize their full potential.

Wherein I admit my newfound addiction to “The Office”

Posted on 17. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in quotes, tv, work

The last thing I need is to watch more tv. I have many books and magazines I’d like to read, so I’d prefer not getting hooked on yet another* tv show. Even so, I decided to check out “The Office” since so many people whose taste I trust swore to me that I’d like it. Lisa P. and Leslie J. suggested that I start at Season 1 so I’d understand all the subplots and meaningful looks found in later seasons.

I was hooked immediately. The trials and travails of the humble (not!) employees of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company of Scranton, PA are laugh out-loud hilarious. My kids and I have spent the past several weeks plowing through the first three seasons, and are eagerly awaiting a way to watch Season 4. (Darn writer’s strike! Darn lack of online episodes!) I love Jim and Pam (“Jam”) and can’t wait for them to find true love. I can’t believe people put up with Michael, but there’s never a dull moment with him. And recently I came across someone who reminded me of Dwight. No, I’m sure you don’t know him.

I was afraid that watching “The Office” would make my kids never want to enter the working world. To the contrary, they say it looks like it can actually be fun sometimes. We’ll see. My husband says the show drives him crazy, and that these people wouldn’t last a day in his office. He’d rather read “War and Peace” than watch “The Office.”

Of course, there are lots of “Office” fan sites. These include ones dedicated to “Jam” and others to the many quotes the show produces. Here’s one of my favorite quotes:

Ryan: Last year Creed asked me how to set up a blog. Wanting to protect the world from being exposed to Creed’s brain, I opened up a Word document on his computer and put an address at the top. I’ve read some of it. Even for the intranet, it’s… pretty shocking.

Now that I’m done with Season 3, maybe I’ll catch up on my reading.

* I already won’t miss “Ugly Betty,” “24,” and “Flight of the Chonchords.”

My new favorite font

Posted on 29. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in art, cool websites, work

Some people drink to relax, others do yoga. I prefer to download free fonts. I found a few really cool ones last night, including Ecolier, Cool Dots, and Cicle. But my favorite new one is Petit Latin. I downloaded them all from UrbanFonts.com.

Now to classify them in my FastFontSet program. I’ve set up different categories such as serif, sans serif, cursive, art deco, all caps, etc., so that when I’m looking for a certain type of font it’s easy to find.

I can’t wait to use Petit Latin for something!

Physician, heal thyself: I finally treat myself to a new website

Posted on 06. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in my life, work

For over seven years I had roughly the same business website. I’ve been so busy designing websites for other people that I never got around to updating my own. Besides, I was staying busy enough without spiffing it up.

I finally got sick of it, and spent all day today redesigning it. I’m embarrassed to show a screenshot of the old site, but here’s one of the new site. You can see it at kchristieh.com. I’m sure I’ll refine it in the next few days, but it probably won’t change too much.

I figured I’d post it now since I’m too tired to write a pithy blog post today. You’ll have to wait ’til tomorrow for that. :)

Companies with more women on their boards perform better

Posted on 06. Oct, 2007 by kchristieh in feminism, startling statistics, work

From workforce.com:

Companies with more women on their boards perform better than those with very few women, according to a study released on Monday, October 1, by Catalyst, a New York-based consultant.

During the four-year span of the reporting for the study, Fortune 500 companies with the highest percentage of women on their boards saw equity returns that were 53 percent higher than those companies with the fewest number of women on their boards.

These companies saw a return on sales that was 42 percent higher than those companies with the least number of women. Similarly, they saw a return on invested capital that was at least 66 percent higher.

“We have established a correlation between diverse boards and strong corporate performance,” says Kara Helander, vice president, Western Region at New York-based Catalyst.

I wonder whether the value of having a diverse board holds true if the board members are of diverse races, religions, ages or other factors? I bet it does, especially in certain industries. The more perspectives we have on decisions, the better those decisions are likely to be.

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